A gunman opened fire inside the offices of a newspaper in Maryland. He has been identified as Jarrod Ramos, authorities said.

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The grudge-harboring maniac accused of killing five Maryland newspaper staffers picked off his victims one by one, and made sure the couldn’t escape, authorities said Friday.

Suspected gunman Jarrod Ramos shot his way into the Annapolis office of the Capitol Gazette Thursday afternoon, killing five and wounding two others.

Ramos, 38, was held without bail after his arraignment on five counts of murder Friday.

“We brought to the judge’s attention the evidence that suggested a coordinated attack, the barricading of a back door and the use of a tactical approach in hunting down victims in this case,” Anne Arundel County State Attorney Wes Adams said.

Those who tried to escape only found themselves in Ramos’ cross-hairs, Adams explained.

“I will say this: The fellow was there to kill as many people as possible,” County Police Chief Timothy Altomare added.

Police said Ramos used a pump-action shotgun to kill 59-year-old Rob Hiaasen, an assistant editor and columnist for the newspaper; 65-year-old Wendi Winters, a community correspondent; 61-year-old Gerald Fischman, the editorial page editor; 56-year-old John McNamara, a staff writer tasked with covering high school, college and professional sports; and 34-year-old Rebecca Smith, a recently hired sales assistant. Two other people were wounded.

Jarrod Ramos, 38, was arrested after gunning down five people at the Capital Gazette in Annapolis on Thursday. (Anne Arundel Police Department)

Ramos legally bought the weapon within the past 18 months, even though he has a criminal record and a history of violent behavior, including making threats against the newspaper, cops said.

“There’s a real gap in Maryland law in that it treats semi-automatic rifles and handguns fairly comprehensively, but not shotguns,” said David Chipman, a former ATF agent who is now a senior policy adviser for Gifford’s Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

To buy a handgun in Maryland, a person is required to have state ID, be 21 or older, have a handgun-qualification license and complete a certified training course. To get a long gun like the one Ramos allegedly used, state ID and the age requirement of 18 years old are all that is needed.

If Ramos purchased his firearm through a private party, there would have been no waiting period or background check, Chipman said.

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Ramos’ feud with the paper began in 2011 after former columnist Eric Hartley wrote a story called “Jarrod wants to be your friend,” which chronicled a criminal-harassment case against the alleged triggerman.

Hartley’s column outlined how Ramos moved to rekindle a friendship with a former high school classmate who was kind to him while they were teens. But when he sought her help in more personal matters, he turned threatening and erratic.

Court records show Ramos pleaded guilty July 26, 2011, to a charge of criminal harassment against the woman.

The Gazette’s editor at the time, Thomas Marquardt, told the Baltimore Sun Ramos started harassing the news outlet almost immediately after the article was published. Marquardt said he “was seriously concerned (Ramos) would threaten us with physical violence."

In July 2012, Ramos filed a defamation suit against Hartley and Marquardt, accusing the newspaper of publishing false statements about him. A year later, Marquardt says he approached police about Ramos’ threats and was told nothing could be done.

The June 29 edition of the Capital Gazette is seen in a newspaper vending box in Annapolis. (Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

Altomare said the newspaper management and law enforcement came to a “shared conclusion that carrying action further may exacerbate the situation.”

Ramos’ lawsuit worked its way through the Maryland courts until 2015, when the state’s second-highest court upheld a ruling in favor of the newspaper.

The next day, a Twitter account believe to be Ramos’ shared a post reading: “F--k you, leave me alone.” They’re the same words the account, dormant since 2016, tweeted out just minutes before the Capital Gazette shooting.

Anthony Messenger, an intern at the Gazette who survived the shooting, recalled Friday how the locked back door led to a terrifying revelation.

“That door is normally never locked from the inside out; we have no problems getting out of that door,” Messenger said on NBC News’ “Today” show. “As soon as that happened, that signaled to me that it was intentional. ... You know, we see these things on the news all the time, so unfortunately we’re kind of desensitized to them.”